Mark, Jack (Daniels) and me

Back in mid-February, on the eve of another birthday, I convinced my wife that it would be a fantastic idea if I travelled to NYC and spent the weekend with my music brother. Somehow she agreed and with that arrangements were made, tickets were booked and bags were packed. Knowing that my pal and I would need to prearrange some studio time we went about reserving time at a place near his apartment. The weather would be frigid but the thought of having 3 uninterrupted days and nights filled with exotic take-out food, strong coffee and enough alcohol to make Charles Bukowski proud, made me smile. The music flowed like my buddies broken toilet, constantly and with much volume. The concept of recording everything we played resulted in hours of music to sift through, distill and enhance with layers of new tracks. I’ll post a few of the works in progress soon. This particular creative process is far from over and the pennance I pay to the wife in return for a “lost” weekend in the John Lennon sense is worth every last “yes dear” I’ll utter.

Malcolm Gladwell

I was waiting for a takeout order last night and it was going to be a while, so I went over to a nearby Barnes & Noble and browsed around in the magazine section. As it usually turns out, while I’m browsing I become inspired to read something thought-provoking. So I went over to the information desk and asked about a book that I've read about and had become fascinated with. The book was ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking’ by a gentleman by the name of Malcolm Gladwell. I’m familiar with the author through a book that I'm currenty (along with about 4 others) reading. The premise is to examine the concept of rapid cognition, the kind of thinking that happens in the blink of an eye. Mr. Gladwell’s opinion is that in mere seconds we know either that we like a person we’ve just met, like a home we're looking to buy the minute we step inside, etc. I highly recommend this and his other highly interesting book, ‘The Tipping Point.’